This morning I'm trying to clean up some of the 1,000 random food photos in my files. I don't have to be anywhere or have any tasks pressing to get done so my goal is to clear out and post some of these pictures I uploaded from my phone at the time, but never got around to posting on the site.
I originally posted this recipe back in 2017 or 2018 (?) but I've used it many times and in a couple completely different recipes. The original post was for my keto lasagna. I'll put some notes at the bottom for my second favorite way to use them!
Original Post: No Pasta Lasagna
I used my own homemade spaghetti sauce that I make, food vacuum seal
and freeze. Use whichever store-bought or homemade sauce you prefer just make sure you are
reading labels to make sure of the carb and sugar content.
For the no-pasta noodles:
- 2 eggs
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1/4 c Parmesan cheese
- 1 c mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 t Italian Seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder
Place items in a food processor and blend smooth. Spread smooth into a
9X13" pan you've lined with parchment. Bake about 20-25 minutes. Let
cool or chill while you make the rest.
- 1 lb. ground beef (or mixture of beef/sausage if that's what you prefer.) Brown in a pan on the stove with:
- 1 t Italian seasoning
1 t garlic powder
1 t dried oregano
1 t onion powder
Also use:
- 1 1/2 - 2 c spaghetti sauce of you choice (I make mine homemade) Check carb and sugar counts on yours
- 1 c ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 1-2 t dried basil
- 1/3 c mozzarella or Parmesan cheese
Turn the 9X13 pan of baked cheese "pasta" the long way in front of you
and slice it into 3rds. You now have 3 sheets that are the same size
as a bread loaf pan. These are going to substitute the pasta.
Mix the
basil into the ricotta cheese and egg. I use cottage cheese with an egg or two to thicken it, when I don't have ricotta on
hand. You can also use sour cream instead of cottage cheese or ricotta
if that's all you have on hand (my brothers wouldn't eat ricotta or cottage cheese growing up, so my Mom always used sour cream in her lasagna and still does to this day.)
In a loaf pan, layer your lasagna as you usually do. A bit of sauce, a
sheet of cheese-pasta, meat, the ricotta cheese mixture, sauce,
cheese-pasta, meat, ricotta. Layer at least 3 layers and you should be
to the top of the loaf pan. Sprinkle with parmesan or mozzarella (or
even a mixture of cheddar jack if that's what you have in the house).
Bake about 25-35 minutes at 350 until golden brown, bubbly and hot all
the way through (depends on the thickness of your pan, your oven's
'personality' for baking, etc) Let set at least 10 minutes to set up -
or if you dig into it right away (like we always do) expect it to look
more like a casserole on your plate because you didn't allow it to set
up. We enjoyed with a green salad and blue cheese dressing on the
side.
I believe when these photos were taken, it was during the holidays when I was doing a lot of baking and I had used my 9X13 pans for bars and other goodies; I have a lot of loaf pans though (bread pans) and just baked the layers in 3 bread pans instead of a 9x13 pan. Improvise as you will.
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After baking your 'faux pasta' will be a nice firm, golden sheet
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Everything layered and ready for the oven
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I had made a keto bread dough for garlic breadsticks with the lasagna that night
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*NOTE*
I've posted our family's favorite Mexican Casserole many, many times since I started this site in 2006 and I later adapted it to be lower carb by using low-carb or keto 'flour' tortillas, etc.
I found another option to make it more keto friendly was to use the 'cheese pasta' above in this recipe too! It's a little more work since you have to make the 'pasta' first but it's a great fit for this dish.
Here is the original recipe - you can make it low carb or keto by using the options I mentioned.
Mexican Lasagna (original version)
1 - 2 lbs. ground beef, chicken, turkey, etc.
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 t seasoned salt
2 cups diced tomatoes (or use canned if you prefer)
1 T jalapeno's, diced fine (optional if your family hates them)
1 T onion (another option!)
1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste with 3 empty cans of water OR use 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 1/2 c sour cream OR ricotta or cottage cheese
2 eggs
10 flour tortillas (any style - low carb, etc. is fine too)
2 1/2 - 3 c shredded cheddar or mixture of cheese
Cook the ground beef (if you are using) and drain. If you are using
already cooked beef, chicken, etc. place it in a large pan on the stove
top. When hot, add the taco seasoning, salt, tomatoes, paste and water
or tomato sauce, jalapeno's and onions if you are using them. Bring to a
boil. Reduce and simmer about 10 minutes while you mix the sour cream
OR ricotta/cottage cheese with the eggs in a bowl. Preheat the oven to
350.
Spread half the meat mixture in a 9X13 inch pan. Cut your flour
tortilla in half. Layer about 5 of them over the meat. Spread half the
sour cream or cottage cheese mixture over the tortillas. Sprinkle with
half the shredded cheese. Repeat the layers with the rest of the meat,
tortillas, sour cream or cheese mixture and top with the rest of the
shredded cheese. You can now use green olives or black olives on top if
your family likes them.
Bake uncovered about 20-30 minutes until golden brown, bubbly and hot.
Let it stand 10 minutes to 'set up' for easier cutting. You can serve
this as is or offer sour cream, guacamole, salsa, etc.
